Being a site for the discussion of the important things:
Christianity, Family, Engineering matters, interactions between people, including politics, the ever-popular ''other'', and the intersections between all of these.
The title is from Daniel 3:17-18 ''..our G-d whom we serve is able to deliver us .... and He will deliver us from your hand, O king. But if not , let it be known to you, O king, that we do not serve your gods .....''
I like the attitude.

08 March 2016

The second Tuesday in March already! Yay! I was able to go out and sit on the deck for a little while earlier on. Was waiting for a delivery (more on that) and also just enjoying (relative) warmth and sunshine. Was in the low 50's, with sunshine. Since just over a week ago, we had tall piles of snow, and nightly lows approaching single digits, low 50's is very nice indeed. We are grateful for it.

And we are also grateful for many other things as well. As I've mentioned on occasion, Dear Wife has some serious and worsening health issues. Grave issues. One of the meds that she was prescribed in the latter half of last year was one of those you may see TV ads for, referring to it as a "biologic". That means that, rather than being formulated in a way a chemist might approach it, they have to be grown. Or so I am told. The second interpretation of "biologic" is VERY VERY EXPENSIVE. Last year, with her Disability in force, she qualified under the Medicaid rules, and the cost of that med was 100% covered. But back around the first of the year, she was transferred into the Medicare program, which has much different coverages, even with the supplemental plan we bought. Added to that, the insurance company AND the louts at Medicare, rearranged what they refer to as the "tiers", the groups of meds and services that are covered and at what levels. Upshot of it was that this med, which has been nearly a wonder drug for her, would no longer be fully covered. They would cover 25% of it, the rest on us. That "co-pay" would amount to roughly $6,400 per month, for four weekly doses. That amount is several times our total monthly income. SEVERAL times. And we have no more resources or savings to kick into it, we're "all in". The first thing we did was to stretch her supply on hand and give the dose every other week rather than every week. Loses some effectiveness of course, and some of her symptoms returned. The second thing done was to seek out whatever patient assistance programs might be out there to help in this situation. And the Lord came through. We gave her the very last dose on Sunday the 28th of February. Then we got a Call. Her application had been approved. About two hours ago, the FedEx truck pulled up, and - after I signed for it -- we opened a box that contained, packed in ice, enough of her medicine to last for THREE MONTHS! on a once-per-week schedule! So that is a very great blessing, and a great load off my mind. And that was the other reason that I was sitting outside: to be able to spot the delivery, because it's not one of those "dump at the door and go" things, it either gets signed for here, or we go to their office (after the trucks return from their routes), and sign for it there. Totally in custody throughout, in other words.

The Old Testament reading is chapters 5, 6, 7 of Deuteronomy,
Moses is continuing his message to the Israelites, a reminder if you will, of all the things the Lord had done for them, was continuing to do for them, and had promised to do for them in the future. Along with some pretty specific instructions for living and conduct and attitude.
Moses had to do this, in part because in the course of 40 years, there was a good bit of institutional loss of memory of some of this. In part, because just like us, people often need more often to be reminded of something rather than taught new things. And in part, because in a relatively short time, Moses would not be there any longer to lead the people.
Some of those instructions were quickly forgotten, with disastrous results. Particularly the parts about being separate and distinct from those around them, from the idolatrous and heathen cultures in the area. Those warnings are still being ignored, I see and frequently hear personal messages from friends of long standing, who have become quite comfortable with mixing Christianity with other beliefs, or becoming "relevant" to the surrounding culture. I've been told that it is wrong to "discriminate" against the heathens of Islam, for example. Well, sorry. Scripture approves, even requires, certain types of discrimination. A hard message to hear.

Deuteronomy 5

1

And
Moses called all Israel, and said unto them, Hear, O Israel, the
statutes and judgments which I speak in your ears this day, that ye may
learn them, and keep, and do them.

2

The LORD our God made a covenant with us in Horeb.

3

The LORD made not this covenant with our fathers, but with us, even us, who are all of us here alive this day.

4

The LORD talked with you face to face in the mount out of the midst of the fire,

5

(I
stood between the LORD and you at that time, to show you the word of
the LORD: for ye were afraid by reason of the fire, and went not up into
the mount;) saying,

6

I am the LORD thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage.

7

Thou shalt have none other gods before me.

8

Thou
shalt not make thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that
is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the
waters beneath the earth:

9

Thou
shalt not bow down thyself unto them, nor serve them: for I the LORD
thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the
children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me,

10

And showing mercy unto thousands of them that love me and keep my commandments.

11

Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain: for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.

12

Keep the sabbath day to sanctify it, as the LORD thy God hath commanded thee.

13

Six days thou shalt labor, and do all thy work:

14

But
the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt
not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, nor thy
manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thine ox, nor thine ass, nor any of
thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates; that thy
manservant and thy maidservant may rest as well as thou.

15

And
remember that thou wast a servant in the land of Egypt, and that the
LORD thy God brought thee out thence through a mighty hand and by a
stretched out arm: therefore the LORD thy God commanded thee to keep the
sabbath day.

16

Honor
thy father and thy mother, as the LORD thy God hath commanded thee;
that thy days may be prolonged, and that it may go well with thee, in
the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.

17

Thou shalt not kill.

18

Neither shalt thou commit adultery.

19

Neither shalt thou steal.

20

Neither shalt thou bear false witness against thy neighbor.

21

Neither
shalt thou desire thy neighbor's wife, neither shalt thou covet thy
neighbor's house, his field, or his manservant, or his maidservant, his
ox, or his ass, or any thing that is thy neighbor's.

22

These
words the LORD spake unto all your assembly in the mount out of the
midst of the fire, of the cloud, and of the thick darkness, with a great
voice: and he added no more. And he wrote them in two tables of stone,
and delivered them unto me.

23

And
it came to pass, when ye heard the voice out of the midst of the
darkness, (for the mountain did burn with fire,) that ye came near unto
me, even all the heads of your tribes, and your elders;

24

And
ye said, Behold, the LORD our God hath showed us his glory and his
greatness, and we have heard his voice out of the midst of the fire: we
have seen this day that God doth talk with man, and he liveth.

25

Now
therefore why should we die? for this great fire will consume us: if we
hear the voice of the LORD our God any more, then we shall die.

26

For
who is there of all flesh, that hath heard the voice of the living God
speaking out of the midst of the fire, as we have, and lived?

27

Go
thou near, and hear all that the LORD our God shall say: and speak thou
unto us all that the LORD our God shall speak unto thee; and we will
hear it, and do it.

28

And
the LORD heard the voice of your words, when ye spake unto me; and the
LORD said unto me, I have heard the voice of the words of this people,
which they have spoken unto thee: they have well said all that they have
spoken.

29

O
that there were such an heart in them, that they would fear me, and
keep all my commandments always, that it might be well with them, and
with their children for ever!

30

Go say to them, Get you into your tents again.

31

But
as for thee, stand thou here by me, and I will speak unto thee all the
commandments, and the statutes, and the judgments, which thou shalt
teach them, that they may do them in the land which I give them to
possess it.

32

Ye
shall observe to do therefore as the LORD your God hath commanded you:
ye shall not turn aside to the right hand or to the left.

33

Ye
shall walk in all the ways which the LORD your God hath commanded you,
that ye may live, and that it may be well with you, and that ye may
prolong your days in the land which ye shall possess.

Now
these are the commandments, the statutes, and the judgments, which the
LORD your God commanded to teach you, that ye might do them in the land
whither ye go to possess it:

2

That
thou mightest fear the LORD thy God, to keep all his statutes and his
commandments, which I command thee, thou, and thy son, and thy son's
son, all the days of thy life; and that thy days may be prolonged.

3

Hear
therefore, O Israel, and observe to do it; that it may be well with
thee, and that ye may increase mightily, as the LORD God of thy fathers
hath promised thee, in the land that floweth with milk and honey.

4

Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD:

5

And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.

6

And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart:

7

And
thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of
them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way,
and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.

8

And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes.

9

And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates.

10

And
it shall be, when the LORD thy God shall have brought thee into the
land which he sware unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to
Jacob, to give thee great and goodly cities, which thou buildedst not,

11

And
houses full of all good things, which thou filledst not, and wells
digged, which thou diggedst not, vineyards and olive trees, which thou
plantedst not; when thou shalt have eaten and be full;

12

Then beware lest thou forget the LORD, which brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage.

13

Thou shalt fear the LORD thy God, and serve him, and shalt swear by his name.

14

Ye shall not go after other gods, of the gods of the people which are round about you;

15

(For
the LORD thy God is a jealous God among you) lest the anger of the LORD
thy God be kindled against thee, and destroy thee from off the face of
the earth.

16

Ye shall not tempt the LORD your God, as ye tempted him in Massah.

17

Ye
shall diligently keep the commandments of the LORD your God, and his
testimonies, and his statutes, which he hath commanded thee.

18

And
thou shalt do that which is right and good in the sight of the LORD:
that it may be well with thee, and that thou mayest go in and possess
the good land which the LORD sware unto thy fathers.

19

To cast out all thine enemies from before thee, as the LORD hath spoken.

20

And
when thy son asketh thee in time to come, saying, What mean the
testimonies, and the statutes, and the judgments, which the LORD our God
hath commanded you?

21

Then thou shalt say unto thy son, We were Pharaoh's bondmen in Egypt; and the LORD brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand:

22

And the LORD showed signs and wonders, great and sore, upon Egypt, upon Pharaoh, and upon all his household, before our eyes:

23

And he brought us out from thence, that he might bring us in, to give us the land which he sware unto our fathers.

24

And
the LORD commanded us to do all these statutes, to fear the LORD our
God, for our good always, that he might preserve us alive, as it is at
this day.

25

And it shall be our righteousness, if we observe to do all these commandments before the LORD our God, as he hath commanded us.

When
the LORD thy God shall bring thee into the land whither thou goest to
possess it, and hath cast out many nations before thee, the Hittites,
and the Girgashites, and the Amorites, and the Canaanites, and the
Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites, seven nations greater
and mightier than thou;

2

And
when the LORD thy God shall deliver them before thee; thou shalt smite
them, and utterly destroy them; thou shalt make no covenant with them,
nor show mercy unto them:

For
they will turn away thy son from following me, that they may serve
other gods: so will the anger of the LORD be kindled against you, and
destroy thee suddenly.

5

But
thus shall ye deal with them; ye shall destroy their altars, and break
down their images, and cut down their groves, and burn their graven
images with fire.

6

For
thou art an holy people unto the LORD thy God: the LORD thy God hath
chosen thee to be a special people unto himself, above all people that
are upon the face of the earth.

7

The
LORD did not set his love upon you, nor choose you, because ye were
more in number than any people; for ye were the fewest of all people:

8

But
because the LORD loved you, and because he would keep the oath which he
had sworn unto your fathers, hath the LORD brought you out with a
mighty hand, and redeemed you out of the house of bondmen, from the hand
of Pharaoh king of Egypt.

9

Know
therefore that the LORD thy God, he is God, the faithful God, which
keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love him and keep his
commandments to a thousand generations;

10

And
repayeth them that hate him to their face, to destroy them: he will not
be slack to him that hateth him, he will repay him to his face.

11

Thou shalt therefore keep the commandments, and the statutes, and the judgments, which I command thee this day, to do them.

12

Wherefore
it shall come to pass, if ye hearken to these judgments, and keep, and
do them, that the LORD thy God shall keep unto thee the covenant and the
mercy which he sware unto thy fathers:

13

And
he will love thee, and bless thee, and multiply thee: he will also
bless the fruit of thy womb, and the fruit of thy land, thy corn, and
thy wine, and thine oil, the increase of thy kine, and the flocks of thy
sheep, in the land which he sware unto thy fathers to give thee.

14

Thou shalt be blessed above all people: there shall not be male or female barren among you, or among your cattle.

15

And
the LORD will take away from thee all sickness, and will put none of
the evil diseases of Egypt, which thou knowest, upon thee; but will lay
them upon all them that hate thee.

16

And
thou shalt consume all the people which the LORD thy God shall deliver
thee; thine eye shall have no pity upon them: neither shalt thou serve
their gods; for that will be a snare unto thee.

17

If thou shalt say in thine heart, These nations are more than I; how can I dispossess them?

18

Thou shalt not be afraid of them: but shalt well remember what the LORD thy God did unto Pharaoh, and unto all Egypt;

19

The
great temptations which thine eyes saw, and the signs, and the wonders,
and the mighty hand, and the stretched out arm, whereby the LORD thy
God brought thee out: so shall the LORD thy God do unto all the people
of whom thou art afraid.

20

Moreover
the LORD thy God will send the hornet among them, until they that are
left, and hide themselves from thee, be destroyed.

21

Thou shalt not be affrighted at them: for the LORD thy God is among you, a mighty God and terrible.

22

And
the LORD thy God will put out those nations before thee by little and
little: thou mayest not consume them at once, lest the beasts of the
field increase upon thee.

23

But the LORD thy God shall deliver them unto thee, and shall destroy them with a mighty destruction, until they be destroyed.

24

And
he shall deliver their kings into thine hand, and thou shalt destroy
their name from under heaven: there shall no man be able to stand before
thee, until thou have destroyed them.

25

The
graven images of their gods shall ye burn with fire: thou shalt not
desire the silver or gold that is on them, nor take it unto thee, lest
thou be snared therein: for it is an abomination to the LORD thy God.

26

Neither
shalt thou bring an abomination into thine house, lest thou be a cursed
thing like it: but thou shalt utterly detest it, and thou shalt utterly
abhor it; for it is a cursed thing.

The New Testament reading is verses 1-27 of Mark 12.
This is Jesus speaking, and the setting is in and around Jerusalem, in the few days before His crucifixion. He knew that. They didn't. Consider His words in light of that.

And
he began to speak unto them by parables. A certain man planted a
vineyard, and set an hedge about it, and digged a place for the winefat,
and built a tower, and let it out to husbandmen, and went into a far
country.

2

And at the season he sent to the husbandmen a servant, that he might receive from the husbandmen of the fruit of the vineyard.

3

And they caught him, and beat him, and sent him away empty.

4

And
again he sent unto them another servant; and at him they cast stones,
and wounded him in the head, and sent him away shamefully handled.

5

And again he sent another; and him they killed, and many others; beating some, and killing some.

6

Having yet therefore one son, his wellbeloved, he sent him also last unto them, saying, They will reverence my son.

7

But those husbandmen said among themselves, This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and the inheritance shall be our's.

8

And they took him, and killed him, and cast him out of the vineyard.

9

What
shall therefore the lord of the vineyard do? he will come and destroy
the husbandmen, and will give the vineyard unto others.

10

And have ye not read this scripture; The stone which the builders rejected is become the head of the corner:

11

This was the Lord's doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes?

12

And
they sought to lay hold on him, but feared the people: for they knew
that he had spoken the parable against them: and they left him, and went
their way.

13

And they send unto him certain of the Pharisees and of the Herodians, to catch him in his words.

14

And
when they were come, they say unto him, Master, we know that thou art
true, and carest for no man: for thou regardest not the person of men,
but teachest the way of God in truth: Is it lawful to give tribute to
Caesar, or not?

15

Shall
we give, or shall we not give? But he, knowing their hypocrisy, said
unto them, Why tempt ye me? bring me a penny, that I may see it.

16

And they brought it. And he saith unto them, Whose is this image and superscription? And they said unto him, Caesar's.

17

And
Jesus answering said unto them, Render to Caesar the things that are
Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's. And they marvelled at
him.

18

Then come unto him the Sadducees, which say there is no resurrection; and they asked him, saying,

19

Master,
Moses wrote unto us, If a man's brother die, and leave his wife behind
him, and leave no children, that his brother should take his wife, and
raise up seed unto his brother.

20

Now there were seven brethren: and the first took a wife, and dying left no seed.

21

And the second took her, and died, neither left he any seed: and the third likewise.

22

And the seven had her, and left no seed: last of all the woman died also.

23

In the resurrection therefore, when they shall rise, whose wife shall she be of them? for the seven had her to wife.

24

And Jesus answering said unto them, Do ye not therefore err, because ye know not the scriptures, neither the power of God?

25

For
when they shall rise from the dead, they neither marry, nor are given
in marriage; but are as the angels which are in heaven.

26

And
as touching the dead, that they rise: have ye not read in the book of
Moses, how in the bush God spake unto him, saying, I am the God of
Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob?

27

He is not the God of the dead, but the God of the living: ye therefore do greatly err.

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'Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other"--John AdamsStatesmen, my dear Sir, may plan and speculate for liberty, but it is Religion and Morality alone, which can establish the Principles upon which Freedom can securely stand."John Adams, 1776The only foundation for...a republic is to be laid in Religion. Without this there can be no virtue and without virtue there can be no liberty and liberty is the object and life of all republican governments."Benjamin Rush, 1798

Always love your country -- but never trust your government. -- Robert Novak